Alaska Outdoor Digest

The source for important, timely news on hunting, fishing and the outdoors in Alaska.

Today:  The King that may never be dethroned
Today in 1985, a Soldotna fisherman went fishing…and came home with the largest king salmon ever recorded on hook and line. Les Anderson wasn’t looking for a fishing record that may never be broken.  He and a buddy were just getting an early start on the year’s Kenai king... Read more
Mom was a fisherman
BY LEE LESCHPER Most folks remember their mothers in the kitchen, or at the bedside when they were sick, or walking them to their first day of school. Not me. I remember Mom standing knee-deep in Little Bay at Rockport, on Texas’s Coastal Bend, hanging onto a screaming spinning... Read more
Tuesday ASFA meeting features rockfish seminar
May 8 will be the last meeting of the Alaska Sport Fishing Association, 6:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Cabela’s. Join Jay Baumer, Anchorage, Prince William Sound, and North Gulf Coast Area Management Biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This free event is open to the public and... Read more
Sportfishing groups oppose expanded pink salmon stocking
Nine Alaska-outdoor-sporting organizations have signed an emergency petition to the Alaska Board of Fisheries seeking a delay in implementation of the recent actions (April 19, 2018) taken by the Prince William Sound (PWS) Regional Planning Team to amend hatchery-management plans to allow for an increase in the number of... Read more
Trials, Tribulations, and a Tribute to the Pacific Salmon Treaty
Editor’s note:   Charlie Swanton, member of the Alaska Pacific Salmon Commission, wrote this analyis of the generations-old challenges of managing the salmon that Alaska and Canada share, especially for stocks that continue to struggle.  This was previously published in the Juneau Empire.  By Charles O. Swanton Alaska Department of Fish... Read more
Today’s recipe: Rockfish Creole
Pacific Council debating chinook bycatch Friday
The Northern Pacific Fisheries Council, the organization that oversees Federal fisheries in Alaska waters, is meeting in Anchorage this week and next. Critical for Alaska anglers is today’s discussion (Friday morning) on how to manage the significant bycatch of king (chinook) salmon in the pollock trawl fisheries in the... Read more
Anchorage AC elects sportfishing, resident hunter slate
Sport fishermen and resident hunters showed up in force to vote in six new members to the Anchorage Fish and Game Advisory Committee Tuesday night. There were a total of six seats on the committee open. Members Phil Calhoun and Neil DeWitt were relected. New members Tyler Loken, Rick... Read more
Critical Anchorage Advisory Council election Tuesday
Tuesday, April 3, 6:30 p.m. at the King Career Center in Anchorage By Lee Leschper This Tuesday there are two big elections for Anchorage residents. For local sport and subsistence fishermen, the election for open seats on the Anchorage Fish & Game Advisory Committee may be even more important... Read more
Homer king derby draws big crowd, big bucks
Although only about one out of six anglers weighed in a king salmon, Homer’s annual winter king derby was a major success in terms of participation–more than 1100 anglers registered to battle the cold and fish the March 24 event. Here are the top 10 winners and their prize... Read more